Dry seal pressure type gas holder



Nov. 15, 1949 J. H. WIGGINS DRY SEAL PRESSURE TYPE GAS HOLDER 2Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed NOV. 18, 1947 FIG. I.

INVENTOR;

- JOHN H.W/GG/N5 By MM ATTORNEY Nov. 15, 1949 J. H. WIGGINS vDRY SEALPRESSURE TYPE GAS HOLDER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 18, 1947 INVENTOR;

ATTORNEY Patented Nov. 15, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE DRY SEALPRESSURE TYPE GAS HOLDER 2 Claims.

This invention relates to dry seal, pressure-type gas holders of theparticular kind in which the piston is provided with an opening forreceiving a vertically-disposed roof support, said opening being sealedby a flexible, curtain-like sealing element of approximately tubularform in general shape or outline, attached at one end to the piston andhaving its other end attached to said roof support at a pointsubstantially mid-way the extreme upper and lower positions of thepiston.

One object of my invention is to provide a gas holder of the generalkind above referred to, in which the sealing element for the opening ofthe piston is so constructed and arranged that the internalgas pressurein the storage space or chamber of the apparatus supports said sealingelement and lifts said element during the upward stroke of the piston.

Another object of my invention is to provide a gas holder of the generalkind above referred to, in which substantially the entire horizontalprojection of the sealing element for the roof support opening of thepiston is utilized as the area of said sealing element to which the gaspressure is applied for lifting said element.

And still another object of my invention is to provide a gas holder ofthe general kind above referred to, in which the roof support thatextends through the piston is provided with an abutment portion orbacking surface for the previously mentioned center sealing element, soconstructed and arranged that during the upward stroke of the piston,the internal gas pressure causes the major portion of the area of saidcenter sealing element to lie snugly against said backing surface,substantially free of wrinkles. Other objects and desirable features ofmy invention will be hereinafter pointed out.

Figure 1 is a vertical transverse sectional view of a dry seal,pressure-type gas holder constructe in accordance with my invention.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary, vertical transverse sectional view, showingthe piston slightly above the mid-way point of its extreme upper andlower positions; and

Figure 3 is an enlarged, fragmentary sectional view, illustrating theaction of the gas pressure on the sealing element for the center openingof the piston, during the upward stroke of the piston, and showing howsaid sealing element is applied progressively to the tapered orfrusto-conical-shaped abutment portion or backing surface of the centerroof support.

In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate my invention applied to adry seal, pressuretype gas holder whose piston constitutes the top wallof the gas storage space or chamber, the reference character Adesignates the roof of the casing, B designates the side wall of thecasing, C designates the bottom of the casing, which also forms thebottom of the gas space, D designates the piston, I designates aflexible, curtain-like element of gas-tight material secured at one edgeto an attaching device 4 on the side wall and secured at its other edgeto the peripheral edge portion of the piston, so as to seal the annularspace between said side wall and piston, E designates anupwardly-projecting fender or abutment member on the piston whichabsorbs forces exerted by the gases on the sealing element I and alsocauses said sealing element to assume a predetermined approximate shapeor form during the rise and fall of the piston, ll designates a ventingdevice on theroof, and I6 designates a gas-inlet. The parts abovedescribed are of conventional construction and form no part of mypresent invention.

It is old in this art to equip a gas holder of the general kind abovedescribed with a center roof support that extends vertically through anopening in the center of the piston, and seal said center opening bymeans of a flexible, curtainlike sealing element attached to the pistonand to said center roof support, but in such prior structures thesealing element for the center opening in the piston, and the centerroof support, were constructed in a different manner and functioned in adifferent way than the corresponding parts of the herein described gasholder which constitutes my present invention. In Figure 1 of thedrawings the reference character F designates, as an entirety, avertically-disposed, tubular member at the center of the casing thatserves as a support for the roof A and also serves as a housing for aweight I0 suspended from cables or the like 1 attached to the piston Dand arranged to travel over overhead pulleys or guide wheels 8 and 9.Said roof support F extends upwardly through a center opening in thepiston, and said center opening is sealed by a flexible, curtainlikeelement 2, which is preferably constructed in the form of a frustrum ofa cone. The small end of said frusto-conical sealing element 2 issecured by fastening devices 5 and a seal bar I! to the center roofsupport F at a point approximately mid-way the two extreme positions ofthe piston, and the large end of said sealing device 2 is attached byfastening devices [2. to a collar 6 on the top side of the piston,

which surrounds the center opening in the piston. The center roofsupport F is provided with a lower portion 1 3- that is gas-tight fromits extreme lower end up to the point Where the small end of the centersealing element 2 is attached to said roof support, said lower portionI3 being cylindrical or of any other preferred cross-sectional shape.Above the point of attachment of the sealing element 2 to the centerroof support F, said support flares outwardly so as to form an invertedfrusto-conical abutment member or back stop surface I4 for the centersealing element 2 when the piston is at the end of its upward stroke.The upper portion l5 of the roof support may be cylindrical or of anyother preferred cross-sectional shape. The upper portion l5 and thetapered back stop portion 14 of the roof support F do not have to begas-tight, inasmuch as both of said portions of the roof support arelocated outside of the gas storage space of the holder.

When the piston is at or adjacent the end of its downward stroke, asshown in solid lines in Figure l, the gases in the storage space orchamber exert a force on the center sealing element 2, as indicated bythe arrows, with the result that said sealing element 2 is supported bythe internal pressure. During the upward stroke of the piston, the gaspressure lifts the entire sealing element 2, holds the lower portion ofsaid sealing element in tension, and progressively applies said sealingelement to the tapered back-stop or abutment surface M of the centerroof support F, as shown in Figures 2 and 3. By the time the piston hasreached its extreme upper position, as shown in broken lines in Figure1, the major portion of the area of the sealing element 2 will liesnugly against the inverted, frusto-conical portion I4 of the roofsupport F, substantially free from wrinkles, and the portion of saidsealing element that bridges the space between the portion M of the roofsupport and the attaching collar 6 on the piston will be maintained inthe form of an upwardly-disposed loop by the gas pressure in the storagespace. The sealing element 2 operates in the manner above described,because said sealing element is built as a conical frustrum to fit aspecial condition, the area of the annular space 8 being dependent onthe Weight of the element 2 and the internal pressure of the gas storagespace. The product gas pressure per square foot times the area Y equalsthe weight of the sealing element 2 is the formula which determines thewidth of the annular space Y. It can thus be seen that varying space Ygives control for variable pressures and variable weights of the sealingelement 2.

So far as my broad idea is concerned, it is immaterial whether the roofsupport is located at the center of the casing, or at a point betweenthe center and side wall of the casing. It is also immaterial whetherthe gas holder is provided with only one roof support, or a plurality ofroof supports that project upwardly through openings in the piston,adapted to be sealed by flexible, curtain-like sealing devices embodyingmy invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

1. A dry seal, pressure-type'gas holder whose casing comprises avertical side wall and a roof, a vertically-reciprocating piston in saidcasing, a flexible, gas-tight sealing means disposed between said sidewall and the peripheral edge of the piston, a vertically-disposedsupport for said roof that projects upwardly through an opening in thepiston, a flexible, curtain-like sealing element of substantiallyfrusto-conical form having its large end attached to the piston adjacentthe opening in same and having its small end attached to said roofsupport mid-way the extreme upper position and lower position of thepiston, and an abutment surface of inverted frusto-conical form on saidroof support, arranged so as to serve as a backing for saidfrusto-conical-shaped sealing element when the piston is in its extremeupper position, said abutment surface beginning adjacent the point ofattachment of the said sealing element to said roof support and wideningupwardly above said point of attachment.

2. A dry seal, pressure-type gas holder, having a casing that comprisesa roof and a vertical side wall, a vertically-reciprocating piston insaid casing, a flexible, gas-tight sealing means disposed between saidside wall and the peripheral edge of the piston, a vertically-disposedsupport for said roof that projects upwardly through an opening in saidpiston, a flexible, curtain-like sealing element of substantiallyfrusto-conical form for sealing the roof support opening in the piston,attached to the piston and to the roof support, and an abutment surfaceof substantially inverted frusto-conical form on said roof supportlocated above the point of attachment of the sealing element to the roofsupport, said sealing element being arranged so that during the upwardstroke of the piston the internal gas pressure presses the major portionof said sealing element into snug engagement with the said abutmentsurface on the roof support and causes the portion of said sealingelement immediately adjacent the opening in the piston through whichsaid roof support extends, to assume the form of an upwardlydisposedloop.

JOHN H. WIGGINS.

REFERENCES CITED UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Wiggins Nov. 28, 1944Number

